The defence minister, Celso Amorim, signaled on Monday, May 4 that he will act to open the information centres of the armed forces for the national truth commission, which is to investigate crimes committed by state agents from 1946 to 1988. "The law says we all have a duty to cooperate," he said. "Overall, everything is open."
He was speaking at a news conference after meeting with members of the TC. The information centres of the air force (CISA), army (CIEX) and navy (Cenimar) keep the memories of political repression, especially the period of military rule (1964-1985) - popularly called "secret files of the dictatorship." These were the centres in which in 1993, three lists were found with some information about PCdoB guerrillas in Araguaia who died in the early 1970s.
Since 1985, the beginning of the civil government of José Sarney, the military has maintained the line that there are no official records. The military, however, never allowed the entry of representatives of civilian areas of government or the justiciary into the information centres. The CIEX, formerly CIE, in particular, organized the policy of extermination of opponents of the dictatorship during the governments of Medici (1969-1974) and Geisel (1974-1979). Human rights groups hope the opening of the centres will clarify how political activists were killed.
At first, Celso Amorim dodged when asked about the opening of the information centres. Asked about the possibility of opening the centres, he even said that there was no talk "about it," at the committee meeting. Then he admitted that "everything had been discussed", without specifying the question of the centres. Eventually, however, the minister indicated that the "heart" of the official memory of repression could be opened. He, however, did not say when this might occur and under what conditions.
In the interview, Amorim said the TC is the "last chapter in the history of the democratic opening in Brazil." "We will provide all the information requested that might help the commission," he said. "We reiterate the willingness of the Ministry of Defence to cooperate and collaborate with members of the committee."
For the first time in Guatemala's history, a former police chief now faces trial based on evidence collected from the national police archives, a labyrinth of dark rooms found by chance in 2005 when an explosion tore through a dilapidated building being used as a munitions dump....which makes it particularly disappointing to contrast with this story about possible legal limitations to the use of official documents in the country:
Peron is dead. Long live Peron. This is the slogan with which the right wing of the Peronist movement which holds power in Argentina will attempt to bamboozle the public into believing that with the death of the old general, nothing has changed. The real name of Mrs Peron is Maria Estela Martinez de Peron, and technically she should be known as President Martinez, but whatever her name she will be projected as the rightful heir to the mantle of the old caudillo. Those who have been running the country in the name of Peron for the past year will thus be able to carry on their game without changing the name of the business.
When great men die, there is an interregnum. It takes time before social forces, crushed by the weight of a single individual's personality, reassert themselves. However much advance planning may have been made among the various groups jockeying for power in Argentina, to take account of an event that everyone knew was inevitable, the actual physical removal of Juan Peron will leave Argentina stunned, and the first inclination will be to close ranks behind the new president, however inadequate her qualifications.
While civil war still seems a somewhat remote prospect, there is no doubting the explosive nature of Argentine society. For 20 years an articulate and organised working class has been deprived of any power within the community and has seen its standard of living drop. For nearly 10 years a left wing guerrilla movement has been growing in strength. It has established strong links with the working class, skilfully exploiting their legitimate grievances. This is no mere bunch of idealistic students, but a powerful military movement. It could only be crushed by repression on a scale unknown even in Chile or in Uruguay, or by seeking some kind of political accommodation.
This is no simple battle between Left and Right. Every group and every institution in Argentine society is deeply divided, but not along lines that can easily be categorised. And it is this lack of a clear distinction that makes a civil war seem improbable.
A further enigma is the army. It too is not a monolithic force. It contains Peronists and non-Peronists, reactionaries who support Brazil and progressives who support Peru. No one tendency can be seen to prevail. As long as the political struggle within the Peronist movement continues as a fight between individuals, violent and bloody though this will be. the army is unlikely to intervene. But once the struggle extends to the streets, martial music will soon be heard as the armed forces declare that it is their "historic destiny" to reassert control over the affairs of the nation.
Richard Gott
Guatemala's government handed over a military document on Thursday containing evidence soldiers massacred villagers during the country's civil war which could help prosecute top officials for genocide.
"We are going to continue fighting until the armed forces comply with the law, and don't just produce the 1980 archives, but the ones they have from 1964 onwards, when they started to disappear 170 people," added Urquieta [president of Asofamd, an association of relatives of the disappeared].
The family members of the disappeared are demanding that president Evo Morales intervene to force the military to reveal the dictatorship archives. "We have received declarations of support and interest from the government, but when it comes down to it there is no political will. This doesn't explain why, as president Evo Morales is head of the armed forces, he doesn't instruct them to proceed with opening up the documents," said Erbol María Soledad Quiroga, daughter of Marcelo Quiroga Santa Cruz [a disappeared journalist and writer]. [trans mine]
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